Can the administration be trusted? An analysis of the concept of trust, applied to the public sector

Details

Report: a report published by a school or other institution, usually numbered within a series.

Publication sub-type

Working paper: Working papers contain results presented by the author. Working papers aim to stimulate discussions between scientists with interested parties, they can also be the basis to publish articles in specialized journals

Can the administration be trusted? An analysis of the concept of trust, applied to the public sector

Author(s)

FivatE., PasquierM.

Institution

IDHEAP

Address

Lausanne

Issued date

10/2015

Number

6/2015

Genre

Working paper de l'IDHEAP

Language

english

Number of pages

58

Abstract

In the first part of this paper, we present the various academic debates and, where applicable, questions that remain open in the literature, particularly regarding the nature of trust, the distinction between trust and trustworthiness, its role in specific relationships and its relationship to control. We then propose a way of demarcating and operationalizing the concepts of trust andtrustworthiness.In the second part, on the basis of the conceptual clarifications we present, we put forward a number of "anchor points"regarding how trust is apprehended in the public sector with regard to the various relations hips that can be studied. Schematically, we distinguish between two types of relations hips in the conceptual approach to trust: on one hand, the trust that citizens, or thirdparties, place in the State or in various public sector authorities or entities, and on the other hand, trust within the State or the public sector, between its various authorities, entities, and actors.While studies have traditionally focused on citizens' trust in their institutions, the findings, limitations and problems observed in public - sector coordination following the reforms associated with New Public Management have also elicited growing interest in the study of trust in the relationships between the various actors within the public sector. Both the theoretical debates we present and our propositions have been extracted and adapted from an empirical comparative study of coordination between various Swiss public- service organizations and their politico - administrative authority. Using the analysis model developed for this specific relationship, between various actors within the public service, and in the light of theoretical elements on which development of this model was based, we propose some avenues for further study - questions that remain open - regarding the consideration and understanding of citizens' trust in the public sector.